What do I do?

I'm rereading Experiencing God - an amazing book and an absolute MUST READ for all Christians - the premise is how to know and do the Will of God.

Since I have been having a bit of a struggle recently with what to do, this book's advice is especially helpful.

How do we know God's will for our lives? Basically there are three things that must be in agreement:

1. Your heart - the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts to give us direction, but we must be careful, our heart isn't enough. The heart can lead us astray as we can mishear God's direction.

2. Scripture - There is nothing new under the sun and the Word of God has something to say about everything. So go the Word of God to see what He has to say about a particular situation and to make sure what your heart is telling you doesn't conflict. Many (like Oprah) will hear Scripture and say, that just doesn't feel right or sit right with me. I don't like that part of Scripture. Bottom line, if your heart is in conflict with Scripture, your heart is wrong. YOU need to change.

3. Other Christians - those around you that you respect as mature Christians should agree with your decision or the direction you feel God is leading you. If you feel that you are doing what God wants you to do, but other Christians are cautioning you against it, BIG RED FLAG. Doesn't mean you are absolutely wrong, but strongly consider what they have to say. God will use those mature people He has placed in your life to confirm His Word to you. Even worse, if you are afraid to discuss what you are doing with strong Christians, take a break, go back to steps 1-3! That is a HUGE sign you are on the wrong track.

So now, as I apply those three steps to the decision Tim and I are trying to make, I feel confident of the direction He has given us. Our hearts, the Word, and other believers concur.

But that doesn't mean following through is easy.

Recently, I had a bit of an epiphany on the use of the phrase, "I'm confused. I don't know what to do." I believe that most of the time, we are misusing "confused". The facts are clear, the situation is not confusing, our options are pretty straightforward. The confusion comes in when we see what we need to do (what the right thing to do is) and what we really WANT to do. We are confused as to how to do what we want and somehow also do the right thing. So when I feel confused, I have to ask myself, "What is it I really WANT to do and what is I really KNOW I'm supposed to do?" There's the confusion, between the two.

So off I go, following God's will. This whole Christ-follower thing is not as easy as I might have hoped!